Bloodwood Curse
by thequeenxofhearts
Summary: After a couple die in a mysterious house fire, it's up to the gang to solve the mystery of the Bloodwood Curse.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Gang's office, Buffalo, New York

"Ok gang." Fred said, Velma was sat at the desk on her laptop, Shaggy and Scooby were eating Subway sandwiches and Daphne was watering the plants.

"We have our new case." Fred said, then gang gathered around the small coffee table. "So, we were just contacted by a police officer in Bushkill, Pennsylvania, there was a fire." Fred said. "We've never investigated fires before, Freddie." Daphne said. "I know Daph, but I think this one is up our alley." He said.

"What is it?" Velma asked. "So, this police officer; Officer Klass, said there was a fire and they're not sure how it started." Fred said.

"Go on." Velma said, getting interested in this case. "So, they managed to put the fire out and they found the owners, Georgia and Arthur Robert inside, they're both dead. There was no fault with the wiring and no problems with the gas before the fire." Fred said, "They want us to check it out."

"Ok." Shaggy said, taking a bite out of his Subway sandwich. "I did some research into the house's history and found nothing, but then I researched the family's history and Georgia, who died in the fire, she's related to a man called Dragomir Bloodwood." Fred said.

"Like here we go, an old family curse, right?" Shaggy asked, Fred nodded, Shaggy took a huge bite of the sandwich.

"So, what does that have to do with the fire?" Velma asked. "We won't know until we investigate the ruins of the house." Fred said. "Alright." Daphne said, "Fred's right, this is definitely up our street." She said.

"Ok, so I'm going to do some research into Dragomir and this fire." Velma said. "You can do that on the way, Velma. We're leaving soon." Fred said.

"Will we have enough time to pack?" Shaggy asked, thinking about all the snacks he'll need to pack for the journey. Velma grabbed her notepad and her laptop, Shaggy and Scooby went across to Subway to get sandwiches for the journey.

"Are you alright to drive?" Daphne asked. "Yep." Fred smiled, "But I'll tell you if I need to stop." He smiled, pressing his lips to hers, she smiled. "When Shaggy and Scooby get back, we'll get some gas and be on our way." Fred said. "Well if we're waiting for Shaggy and Scooby, we'll be waiting all day." Daphne joked.

Just after two o'clock, the gang arrived in Bushkill, they went to the police station and were led to the scene by a police officer.

"There's a gas station down the road," The police officer said, "The lad who works there called nine-one-one when he saw the smoke, he knew only houses were up this way." He said. "He said he knew it was too cold for people to be having barbeques, and the smoke was too thick to be a barbeque." He said.

The gang stood in front of what was left of the house, they could tell that it had been a big house. The roof was gone, the front door was gone and most of that side of the house had crumbled.

"How long was the fire going when you got here?" Velma asked. "Well, Tobias Black, the kid from the gas station, called about twelve o'clock yesterday afternoon, we got to the house just after quarter past." The police officer said.

"Right, so the house could have been burning for hours before Tobias spotted the smoke." Velma said. "That's what we think." The police officer said, "Notice the houses aren't close together." He said, the gang looked around, guessing that there was probably one hundred yards between each house. "Yeah." Fred said, wondering where this was going.

"None of the neighbours saw the fire." The police officer said, the gang exchanged looks. "How many houses in the neighbourhood; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." He said, counting each of the houses, included the one destroyed by the fire, "Imagine how many people are inside each house; none of the neighbours were home." He said.

"So, there are ten houses in the neighbourhood, one of them is on fire and all of the other neighbours are out?" Daphne asked. "Weird isn't it." The police officer said, the gang nodded.

"We didn't realise they were in there until we put the fire out and had a look, neither of the couple drive." The police officer said. "We've contacted their families," He said.

"What about Tobias?" Shaggy asked. "We questioned him yesterday, we looked through the security camera footage, he was in the gas station the whole time." The police officer said

"Can we see the footage?" Velma asked. "Of course, do you want to look around the house first?" The police officer asked. "Yes." Fred said. "I've got hard hats in the trunk." The police officer said, he went to his police car and pulled out five hard hats.

Then the gang went into the house.

"Be careful gang." Fred said.

When they walked into the house, they tried to imagine what the house looked like before the fire. Walking through what was left of the front door, on the left was doorway to the dining room, and the on the left was the living room.

"I think we should stick together," Fred said, "It's not safe to split up."

"Let's go in here." Velma said, walking into the dining room, the dining table was still standing, though badly burnt. The dining room stretched out into what was left of the kitchen.

They looked around, when Fred spoke to the police officer over the phone, he said the firemen weren't sure how the fire started, he said they'd looked at the wiring and the gas and there were no problems with it before the fire started.

After the kitchen, they went into the living room. It was large room; the TV and the furniture, which were destroyed, filled the room. They didn't know how old the couple was, but they certainly had a lot of money.

"What's through there?" Daphne asked, pointing to a door, the firemen had obviously opened it, so the gang went in.

It looked like a small library; with bookshelves that touched the ceiling and a desk in the corner and a reading chair.

"Hmm…" Shaggy began, "Something doesn't feel right in here." He said. "What do you mean?" Fred asked, looking around the burnt room, Velma looked at the burnt books on the shelf, Daphne could make out a photo frame on the desk, the pretty frame was burnt, and the glass was cracked and there was still a picture inside. She took the frame apart and took the picture out, it was burnt a little bit but only around the edges; it was a picture of some children and an older couple

"Like, I can feel something odd in here." Shaggy said.

Daphne looked at the picture; a man and woman, probably in their seventies, and four children, the oldest probably eight. There was something written on the back, Daphne tuned the picture over to read it, some of the words were burnt but she could make out what it used to say; _Georgia and Arthur with Jessica, Tommy, Lucy and Jane – August 6th 2016_

"I don't know, something is off about this room." Shaggy said. "Ok, well let's have a look around." Fred said. "We're not going to find anything in these books." Velma said, she picked one off the shelve and it fell apart in her hands, the pages were burnt.

Scooby was sniffing around the desk, "I found something." He said, sniffing around. "What is it Scoob?" Shaggy asked, the gang gathered around Scooby. "Let's move this." Shaggy said, he and Fred lifted the desk, carefully as it might crumble any second, and they moved it to the side.

"What's that?" Daphne asked, there was something carved onto the wooden floor, a symbol? It looked like a X with the letter's BW in the centre of it.

"Funny." Velma said, "All of the floorboards are burnt, this symbol, whatever it is, should barely be noticeable."

"It looks like it was put here after the fire." Daphne said. "Yeah." Fred said, he used his phone to take a picture of the symbol.

"Come on, we should go." Fred said, the house started creaking, "It could fall down in any second." He said, the gang quickly left the house.

"Find anything?" The police officer asked. "We're not sure." Fred said, "We've got some work to do." He said.

"So, shall we head down to the station, you want to see the security footage?" The police officer asked, the gang nodded.

They followed the police officer back to the station.

They sat around a computer watching the footage; the camera was facing the counter, but outside, people could be seen filling up their cars.

They could be seen walking through the store, but the police officer said this tape captured most of Tobias, when he was serving customers and not filling up the stock.

Tobias served a few customers; the police officer told the gang that Tobias had said it had been a slow day, so he spent most of the time filling up the empty shelves.

Tobias disappeared from the screen and then a few seconds later he went running to the counter and grabbed the phone and was looking at something out the window.

"Play it back." Velma said, "To when Tobias walked out of the camera's sight." She said, the police officer wound the tape back. "Right, now look in this corner." Velma said, pointing to the left corner of the shop window.

Tobias walks out of the camera's range, "Keep looking." Velma said, the gang stared, and then they saw it; it was grey cloud of smoke, Tobias was running to the counter and grabbed the phone.

"You probably didn't notice it, but the smoke is grey, probably because it's in the distance and on a camera." Velma said.

"Can you play that again?" Daphne asked, the police officer wound it back again, "So, it's not there when Tobias is seen on camera, he walks out of the camera's sight, then seconds later the smoke is seen, and Tobias comes back into view." Daphne said. "Yeah?" Velma asked. "Look how thick the smoke it." Daphne said, "Nothing was there when Tobias walked away, as soon as he's out of sight, which is literally a second, there's a thick cloud of smoke." Daphne said.

"She's right." The police officer said, watching the smoke, "It's too quick." He said.

"Ok, can we talk to Tobias?" Velma asked. "Sure, I'll give him a call." The police officer said.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Daphne, Fred and Scooby sat in the Mystery Machine, Daphne had Velma's laptop and Fred was writing notes. Scooby was drawing a picture of a box of Scooby Snax, because Shaggy had forgotten to pack them, and he was hungry.

Fred took out his phone and stared at the picture of the symbol they'd found in the house. "Hey, I just thought of something." He said. "What?" Daphne asked, looking up from the laptop. "This symbol has the letter's BW on it, and Georgia Roberts is a relative of Dragomir Bloodwood, maybe the BW is Bloodwood?" He suggested. "But wouldn't BW be two words, Bloodwood is one?" Daphne said.

"I don't know." Fred sighed. "Have you found anything?" He asked. "Yeah." Daphne said, suspiciously. "What?" He asked, Daphne sighed. "Ok, so you said that Georgia Roberts is a relative of Dragomir Bloodwood, but whenever I type in Dragomir Bloodwood, or Bloodwood, it comes up with Romanian fairy tales." Daphne said. "There is nothing about an old family from Romania, only in the fairy tales." She said. "What does the fairy tale say?" He asked.

"'In seventeen-sixty, Dragomir Bloodwood was born in Transylvania, Romania. He was raised into witchcraft and wizardry, he was taught by his father, who was a wizard, and his mother who was a witch. At the age of twenty-nine, Dragomir's parents arranged a marriage between him and a wealthy girl from the town, Lenuta, she was a witch. The couple were married the following year, a few weeks after Dragomir turned thirty.'" Daphne said.

Scooby, who had stopped drawing, was leaning over the seats to listen to the story.

"'After one year of marriage, Dragomir and Lenuta had their first child, Dracul, followed by Stefan, Alexandru, Darius, Elisabeta and Cacrima. All were married at the age of thirty and had children in the following year. In eighteen-twenty, Dracul, Dragomir's oldest son, had married a witch from the town, Oana. They had two children together, Odeta and Codrin. Oana died the year after their birth, Dracul did not remarry, instead he raised the children the way he and his siblings were raised. Odeta and Codrin studied witchcraft and wizardry every-day. When Odeta was thirty, she married a wizard called Auram, but Codrin continued with his studies until Dracul arranged a marriage between Codrin and a witch, Daria. She was from another town and came from a wealthy family.'"

Fred was writing notes, Scooby watched what he was writing before he looked back at Daphne to listen to the story. "'Codrin and Daria had five children two years after their marriage; four boys and a girl; Vasillica, Vlad, Decebal, Dorin and Willa.

Unlike her brothers, Willa was rebellious; she was late to her studies, she didn't eat her broccoli and hid from her mother at bathtimes. When she was fourteen, she started sneaking out of the house at night, she'd go into the town, even if nobody was around, it was nice to be out of the house and away from her family for a few hours. She met a boy in the town one night, a non-magical boy. She met him a few times while sneaking out, and she thought of him more than just a friend, and at the age of sixteen, Willa fell pregnant, so she and her lover decided to run away from Transylvania. By the time Dragomir found out, Willa and the boy had left Romania, heading for France.'"

"Dragomir was furious, he found a spell and he sold his soul to make sure it would never die, Dragomir was one-hundred and six when he died. The spell set a curse on Willa, her lover and unborn child. When she was seven months pregnant, Willa's lover died of typhoid, and Willa died during child birth, but she asked for the baby to be name Florin, after his father.'"

"'The baby, Florin, was taken to the orphanage and adopted at the age of three by a couple, who then moved to America.'"

Daphne sighed, "I'm not sure what's going on here," She said, "But I don't know if this Dragomir Bloodwood has anything to do with it." She said. "I don't know." Fred said, running a hand through his hair.

"Rurse." Scooby said. "What?" Daphne and Fred asked. "Maybe rits the rurse." Scooby suggested. "The curse?" Fred asked, looking at his notes. "Maybe you're right." He said.

"Dragomir's curse was on Willa, her lover and unborn child. Willa's lover died seven months into her pregnancy, and she died during child birth. Maybe the curse that was placed on the unborn child, who didn't die he was adopted, is on any of his relatives?" Fred suggested. Daphne and Scooby stared at him.

"What?" Fred asked. "You watch too much TV." Daphne said. "Daph, I'm serious." He said. "I know, but…" She sighed, "Maybe we need to do some _more_ research." She said. "We need to find out where Florin was taken when he was adopted, and who he was adopted by. We know he had children, but we need to know more about them, and Florin." She said.

"Ok." Fred said, his phone started ringing. "Hello Shaggy." He said, "Ok, well, we're in the van, we think we might have an idea." Fred said, "Ok, see you in a minute." He said.

"Did Tobias say anything?" Daphne asked, Fred shook his head, "Only that he saw the fire when he was stacking the shelves and he called the police." He said, "They're on their way back." He said.

"Were you two doing research or getting high?" Velma asked, "Because that theory is _mad_." She said. "Hey!" Fred and Daphne said.

"What are we supposed to tell the police" Velma asked. "'We found out how the fire started, turns out Georgia related to a wizard who put a curse on her relative over a hundred years ago'" Velma said, Shaggy laughed, Daphne and Fred rolled their eyes. "If we solve the mystery, we can stop anyone else from dying." Fred said. "Like, he has a point." Shaggy said.

"Ok, so what do we do?" Velma asked. "I'll try and find Florin's adoption papers." Daphne said, typing away on the laptop.

"Here it is." She said, Velma looked at the laptop. "Like, Scooby and I are going t'get something t'eat." Shaggy said, he and Scooby climbed out of the van, "Anybody want anything?" He asked, Daphne and Velma weren't paying attention. "I'll come with you." Fred said, he climbed out of the Mystery Machine.

"You ok, Fredster?" Shaggy asked. "What? Yeah, I'm fine." He said, Shaggy and Scooby exchanged looks, "Like I think I saw a Subway around the corner." Shaggy said.

"Florin was adopted out of Besanḉon Orphanage in France." Daphne said, "He was adopted by Charles and Lillian Smith when he was three." She said, "And they took him back to America."

"See what you can find on Charles and Lillian." Velma said, Daphne searched, "The only thing I could find is this; they lived in Portland, Oregon and Charles worked in a bar whilst Lillian stayed home with Florin, knitting blankets for the children's hospital." Daphne said. "And she kept a scrapbook, Florin took it after they died." She said, "She kept their train tickets from the journey and the ferry tickets. Hold on."

"What?" Velma asked, Daphne began typing. "I wonder if Florin ever married." She said, typing. "Here." She said, showing Velma the laptop. "Florin married a woman named Clara Miller in June nineteen-nineteen." Daphne said, "She worked in the war hospital and he began working on machinery for the war. They moved to Washington D.C. in nineteen-twenty-one and he started working in the war office." Daphne said.

"Between nineteen-twenty-three and nineteen-twenty-eight, they had six children; Jonathan, Allison, Charlotte, George, Jack and James. Then in nineteen-twenty-nine, Clara died of typhoid and Florin remarried in nineteen-thirty-one and they had four children; Moira, Peter, Sebastian and Phillip." Daphne said.

"Hmm." She said. "In nineteen-thirty-eight, Angela, Phillip, Sebastian and James died of diphtheria, and Florin moved himself and the other children to Philadelphia, and he continued working in the war office." Daphne said.

"Both women who were married to Florin died of diseases." Velma said, "And three of his children." She added. "Well, in nineteen-forty, Florin married for the third and final time." Daphne said, "The woman's name was Victoria. By nineteen-forty-seven, they had six children; Samuel, Robert, Maria, Alexander, Nicholas and Georgia." Daphne said.

"There's another death certificate; Charlotte Smith, Florin's third daughter, she died when she was eighteen." Daphne said, "She died in child birth, her older sister Allison raised the baby, Annabelle."

"Florin retired out of the war office in nineteen-sixty and he bought a house by Lake Champlain in Vermont, his family spent Christmas and Summer in the house. He died in nineteen-sixty-four." Daphne said.

"Apart from Jonathan, Allison, George, Jack and Georgia, all of Florin's children are still alive." Daphne said. "Maybe we should go to the house in Vermont." She suggested. "Why?" Velma asked. "Maybe we'll find some clues." Daphne said.

Fred, Shaggy and Scooby came back with sandwiches and coffee, Daphne told them they're going to Vermont, and after eating they set off.

The house was beautiful, it was only a few feet away from the water front and it looked gorgeous.

It was a large white two storey house with black window shutters and a black front door. It had two garage doors and driveway big enough for at least five cars. The front garden was huge and well looked after, maybe a gardener was hired to look after the gardens whilst the house was vacant.

Velma was sat in the back of the Mystery Machine typing away, "What are you doing, Velm?" Shaggy asked. "If the house has an alarm system, I'll be able to disarm it if it goes off." She said.

They went up to the house, Velma was ready with the laptop, Daphne started picking the lock. "Like, are we really breaking into an old man's house?" Shaggy asked. "He's dead, Shaggy, what's he going to do?" Daphne asked. "Considering his great-grandfather was a wizard, like I'm afraid to ask." Shaggy said.

Daphne pushed the door opened, there was an alarm system, but Velma quickly disarmed it.

The house was even more beautiful on the inside, there were photographs hanging on the walls and the standing on the corner cabinets.

The rooms downstairs were huge; the kitchen, the living room, dining room and library, Shaggy and Scooby went into the kitchen, all the cupboard were empty, much to their dismay.

"Shaggy, nobody has been here since Christmas." Velma said. "I think we should split up." Fred said, "Daph and I will look upstairs." He said. "I'll check out the library." Velma said. "And we'll look around down here." Shaggy said.

Daphne and Fred stepped up the staircase which was covered in a soft beige carpet, which covered the hall floors too.

Fred pushed open the first door at the top of the stairs, it looked like a laundry room; towels were stacked up neatly on the shelves. There were cupboards in the middle of the room, inside Daphne found a washing machine and clothes dryer.

They walked through the hall, looking into the other rooms; they found four bathrooms and the bedrooms had bunkbeds or double beds.

When they got to the end of the hall, there was a staircase, a set of stairs leading up and a set leading down, they went up.

Fred pushed the door open, inside was a large bedroom which had several bunkbeds, it seemed to be an attic converted into a children's bedroom.

Velma went into the library, there was a desk in the corner by the window and an armchair by the other. Velma looked on the shelves, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to be looking for, but something caught her eye; it was a large leather-bound book. She pulled it off the shelve, sitting at the desk she opened the book. It was filled with photos, old black and white photos. They weren't stuck to the pages but held in place by four small, triangular, pocket like things.

She pulled out the first photograph, on the back someone, in _very _neat handwriting had written on the back; _Florin, Clara, Jonathan, Allison, Charlotte, George and Jack, Summer 1928_

The other photographs were of the children, and then there was a photograph of Florin and a woman, Angela. Velma looked through the book, and halfway though, she was able to recognise everyone in the photographs.

The last photograph in the book wasn't in black and white like the others, but in colour, she pulled it out and turned it over; _June 17th 2018_, followed by the names of Florin's surviving children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She turned the page over, she was expecting to see a blank page of book cover, but instead she found a symbol, the same one that they'd found in the Robert's house.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Shaggy pushed opened a door in the kitchen, it led to the garage, "Like, wow." Shaggy gasped. In the garage stood a black 1941 Dodge Luxury Liner, Shaggy stared wide-eyed at the vehicle. "Uh Raggy?" Scooby asked. "Like, it's beautiful Scoob." Shaggy said. "I wonder how long this car has been sitting in here?" He asked.

"Shaggy! Scooby!" Velma called, "Daphne! Fred!"

"Velma?" Shaggy asked, he and Scooby ran back into the kitchen and found Velma standing in the hall with a book. "Like what is it, Velma?" He asked.

Daphne and Fred came running down the stairs. "What?" Fred asked. "Look!" Velma exclaimed, showing them the back of the book. "Is that the symbol from Castor's house?" Daphne asked. "Yes." Velma said, Fred took out his phone and compared the two symbols, they were the same.

"What is that Velma?" Fred asked. "It's a photo book," Velma said, "All the photographs are in black and white, apart from this last one." She said. "That book looks really old." Daphne said. "It is," Velma said, turning to the front page, "But it's weird, this book looks really old, and the symbol looks like it's been in the book for a long time too." She said. "So, Florin must have known it was there, like maybe he thought it was park of the book." Shaggy suggested.

"If photo books have symbols on them, they're usually on the front with 'photographs' written on the front, not in the back of the book." Velma said, "But I was thinking, what if Florin, or any of his children, kept diaries." She said. "Diaries?" Fred asked. "Yeah, a lot of people kept diaries, especially during the wars." Velma said.

"We'll have a look around." Fred said. "I'll check the library." Velma said, "I don't know where else it could be." She said. "Like, I think I saw a guest house next door." Shaggy said. "Ok, Daph you and Velma search the library, Shaggy, Scooby and I will look in the guest house." Fred said, the gang split up.

"Where did you find the book?" Daphne asked, walking into the library. "On that shelf there." Velma said, pointing the bookcase. "Ok." Daphne said.

"Let's have a look around." Velma said, Daphne went over to the desk, she tried to open the draw, but it was locked, so she looked around the room for the key. She saw a trinket box sitting on a shelf, she opened it and inside was a key, she thought it was easy, but it was worth a try.

"Hey Velma, do you think Freddie's been acting weird?" Daphne asked. "Hmm…maybe a little bit." Velma said, looking through the shelves. "Are you two ok?" She asked. "Yeah, we're fine." Daphne said, "But the last couple of weeks he's just been acting like he's trying to keep something from me." She said. "I don't know." Velma said.

Daphne unlocked the desk draw, inside was a magnifying glass, a pair of glasses and a set of keys, but no diary. "There's nothing in here." She said. "No, I think you're right." Velma said.

"So, like, where do we start?" Shaggy asked, after they'd picked the lock to the guest house. "These boxes." Fred said. "Like, I don't think a hundred-year-old diary is going to be kept in a cardboard box, Fred." Shaggy said.

"Ok, so what about…there." He said, pointing to a cabinet. They began to look through the cabinet when they found a storage box filled with old leather books.

"I'll text Daph and tell her we found them." Fred said, Shaggy and Scooby exchanged looks. "Like, Freddie." Shaggy began, "Speaking of Daphne, are you two ok?" He asked. "What, of course we're ok, why wouldn't we be?" Fred asked. "Well, like you've been acting kinda weird." Shaggy said. "No, I'm fine, _we're_ fine." Fred said.

"Really?" Scooby asked, he and Scooby stared at him, Fred sighed. "Ok, if I tell you can't tell Daphne, or Velma because she can't keep a secret." He said. "What is it?" Shaggy asked.

"I…I want to propose to Daphne." Fred said, his cheeks turning pink. Shaggy and Scooby's faces lit up and Shaggy started squealing. "I love weddings!" He exclaimed.

"Have you got a ring yet?" Shaggy asked. "Yes, I just don't know where or when to do it." Fred said.

"They're coming!" Scooby exclaimed. "Ok, for now forget I said anything." Fred said. "Got it Fredster." Shaggy said, zipping his lips.

"You guys found the diary?" Velma asked, walking into the guest house. "Correction." Shaggy said, "We found the diaries!" He exclaimed, Daphne and Velma looked in the box and found several leather-bound books.

Velma picked one out, she opened the first page and read; _Property of Charlotte Smith_

"This is Charlotte's diary." Velma said. The gang opened the other diaries, they all belonged to Jonathan, Allison and Florin's wives; Clara, Angela and Victoria, but the last one _was_ Florin's.

Fred opened it, "It's dated 1925." He said. "What do we do? We can't take them, someone might notice they're gone." Daphne said. "Well, look around guys, like this guest house if covered in dust, I don't think anyone's been here for years. Like, they turned the guest house into a storage room." Shaggy said.

"Wait a minute." Daphne said, she saw the set of stairs and went up, the gang followed her. "I think Florin might have lived in here." She said, pushing a door open which led into an old bedroom; the bedsheets were old, the furniture was old and hanging on the walls were very old photographs.

Shaggy opened the wardrobe and inside were old clothes; sixties style men's clothes and three black dress covers with labels on them;

_CLARA_

_ANGELA_

_VICTORIA_

They gang decided not to open those. Velma looked under the bed, she pulled out a box, it was old and dusty, the gang gathered around her as she looked through the box; there was a small leather-bound book inside, Shaggy opened it and it seemed that Florin was into flower pressing, "Look gang." Shaggy said, softly, showing them the book where a flower was pressed _Flower from Clara's wedding bouquet_

"Look." Velma said, pulling out a photograph of a young couple, the girl was pregnant, she turned it over; _Mother and Father in France, 1896_

"Florin knew he was adopted," Daphne said, "Maybe he was trying to find out about his family back in Romania."

"Well, this'll help us." Velma said, pulling out another book, she opened it and read the first page; _Property of Florin Smith 1906_

"_July 13th, 1906, Mother and Father sat me down this evening, they had something important to tell me. Father said that he and Mother love me very much, and they began to tell me that I am adopted. They showed me the adoption papers, but they said that they loved me when they first saw me. Mother said I am from Romania and my real Mother and Father came to France from Romania."_

The next few entries, Florin writes about meeting Clara, their engagement and marriage and the birth of their children.

"Florin knew that he was adopted, but due to the lack of recourses he was unable to trace his biological family." Velma said, "But he did go to France, back to the orphanage. But most of the women who worked there had all died or worked elsewhere, so he returned to America." Velma said.

"Ok, maybe we need to look into Florin's Romanian family." Fred suggested. "Where do we start?" Shaggy asked. "Maybe we can find any birth, marriage and death certificates online." Daphne said.

"Good idea." Velma said, the gang put the items back where they belong and returned to the Mystery Machine and drove away from the house.

Velma sat in the back with the laptop, searching for anything relating to Florin's Romanian family.

"Ok, the only thing I've found on the Bloodwood's is the Romanian fairy tale." Velma said. "But I wonder, if I put a picture of the symbol in." She said, working on her phone and the laptop.

"Ok, so the symbol does have something to do with the Bloodwood's." Velma said, "Many cultures believe that Ravens are bad omens, associated with death. In Sweden, ravens are thought to be the souls of murdered people and in Germany they're thought to be the souls of the damned." Velma said.

"Well, Georgia and Arthur died in the house fire and we found the symbol in the house." Daphne said. "Like, perhaps this means that Georgia and Arthur was murdered." Shaggy suggested.

"Right, we just need to find out who did it." Fred said. "And why." Scooby said.

"Hang on." Velma said, "There's a cartoon drawing of a wizard with a raven." She said. "A wizard with a raven?" Shaggy asked, Velma gasped, she began typing. "What?" The gang asked. "Florin's mother, Willia, she had an older brother called Vlad." Velma said. "Yeah?" Shaggy asked.

"In Romania, in the fourteen hundreds, there was a king, Vlad III, known as Vlad the Impaler. He was killed in 1476, he was believed to have been a real vampire because they never found his remains. Some people named their children after him, maybe Willa's brother was named after him too." Velma said.

"What are you talking about Velma?" Shaggy asked. "I think we need to get back to the Castor's house." Velma said.

"Why?" Fred asked. "I know the neighbours were out, but those houses were expensive, they were bound to have security cameras." Velma said.

"It's getting late, nobody will speak to us this time of night." Daphne said. "We should stop in a hotel for the night." She suggested, Shaggy searched on his phone for a nearby hotel. "There's a motel a few blocks away." He said.

The next day, the gang returned to Bushkill, and they knocked on the door of Julia and Toby Thompson, who are next door neighbours of Georgia and Arthur Roberts.

The front door opened, "Hello, Mrs Thompson." Velma said, the gang stood outside her house, the gang showed her their badges. "We're investigating the fire at the Roberts', Georgia and Arthur passed away in the fire." Velma said. "Oh my goodness." Mrs Johnson said, putting her hand on her chest.

"We were just wondering if you have security cameras around your house?" Velma asked. "Yes, I do." Mrs Thompson said, "Come in." She said, the gang stepped into her house, it was beautiful.

"Alex!" Mrs Thompson called, "So sorry, I don't know how the cameras work, my husband Toby set them up, but he's at work." She said, a teen boy came down the stairs, "Mom?" He asked.

"Sweetie, these people are investigating the fire at the Roberts', they need to see the security footage, can you find it for me?" Mrs Thompson asked, the boy nodded, and he wondered to the cupboard under the stairs, there was an old TV sitting on a table.

"Dad has two cameras, one pointing at the back garden and the other pointing to the driveway." He said. "Does the one on the driveway capture the Roberts' house?" Fred asked. "I think so." The boy said.

He pressed a few buttons, "You want it set just before the fire?" He asked. "Yes." Velma said. "Ok." He said, pressing a few more buttons. "Ok." He said, moving out the way, the gang gathered around the small screen.

Everyone in the neighbourhood were out of their homes when the fire occurred. They watched the footage; the camera was on the side of the house and capture the driveway, which empty, they could see the Roberts' house.

"What is that?" Shaggy asked, squinting at the screen, the gang leaned in closer to the screen. "More like who is that?" Velma asked.

The gang watched a tall, slim figure walk up to the house, he did something, but the gang couldn't see what he was doing, then he walked away from the house, a few seconds later the house started to go up in flames.

"Alex, can you put this onto a disk for us?" Fred asked. "Sure." He said, the gang moved out the way and Alex played around with a few buttons.

"Thank you so much for your help." Daphne said. "We're happy to help, Georgia and Arthur were our friends, we'll do anything to help." Mrs Thompson said.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The gang sat in the back of the Mystery Machine, gathering around Velma who was trying to get a clearer picture of the figure who was at the Roberts'.

"Right, this is the best I can get it." Velma said, the gang looked at the screen. "Who is that?" Daphne asked, the gang studied the face of the figure, though it wasn't a very clear picture; it was a man, they couldn't make out any distinguishable facial features, only that he seemed to have a large nose.

"Hmm…" Shaggy said studying the figure. "What?" Fred asked. "Nothing, it helps me think." Shaggy said, "Hmm…"

Velma zoomed out a little bit, "His clothes." Daphne began, "They don't look American…or from this century." She said. "Your right." Fred said.

"Hmm…" Shaggy said again, he sighed. "I think I might have something." He said, "Like Daph said, his clothes don't look American, or from this century." He said, "Velma, can you find a picture of Florin's Romanian family?" He asked.

"I think so." Velma said, searching on the laptop, she brought up several pictures of families, the pictures were older than the ones they'd seen in Florin's album.

"Him!" Shaggy exclaimed, the gang recognised Willa from the photograph in Florin's house, but this must have been taken a few years before she left with Florin's father. "You're right Shaggy." Velma said, "It's him." She pointed to a man in the picture, he looked like the man they'd seen in the footage, but he was probably a few years younger.

"Who is that?" Fred asked, Velma scrolled down and read the caption underneath; _From left to right; Codrin, Daria, Vasillica, Vlad, Decebal, Dorin and Willa, 1889_

"Him." Shaggy said, pointing at Vlad, "This is the guy." He said, Velma brought up the picture of the man from the footage and the gang looked at both pictures.

"It's definitely him." Fred said, "But it doesn't make any sense, what does Vlad have to do with it?" He asked. "Yeah, the 'fairy tale' said that Dragomir was the one who put a curse on Florin." Daphne said, "Doesn't say anything about Vlad." She said.

"But we do know." Velma said, "Is he's going to go after the rest of Florin's family."

"But Georgia has seven surviving siblings, Arthur is an only child." Daphne said, Velma quickly began typing on the laptop. "Her brother, Nicholas, lives the closest, he lives with his wife in Allentown." Velma said.

The gang race to Allentown, hopefully they'll make it in time to save Nicholas and is wife.

"It's this house up on the left." Velma said, as the Mystery Machine turned into the street. "He's already here!" Shaggy exclaimed, seeing the figure standing outside the house, Fred pressed a button and the figure was shocked by a distance taser.

The gang jumped out of the van, Shaggy and Fred held the figure down. "Guys, look." Velma said, "It seems that all the neighbours are gone." She said, she was right, the only car they could see was the small Nissan parked on the drive of Nicholas' house.

Daphne knocked on the door, an elderly woman answered, "What is going on?" She asked, looking down at Shaggy and Fred, who still held Vlad down. "Are you and you're husband ok?" Daphne asked. "Yes, but why?" The lady asked, Daphne showed the lady her badge. "Oh my goodness!" The lady exclaimed. "This man is responsible for the death of Georgia and Arthur Roberts." Daphne said, "We believe that he was after you and your husband next." Daphne said.

"Dorothy?" A voice asked from inside the house. "What's going on?" An elderly man came to the door. "Nicholas, these people have caught the man who started the fire at Georgia's." The lady said, the man looked down at the man pinned to the floor.

Velma called the police and they arrived about ten minutes later, and they took Vlad to the police station, the gang followed behind them, after talking to Nicholas and his wife.

"He's not a wizard." Velma said, as they followed the police car. "Huh?" Shaggy asked. "Otherwise he would have escaped already." Velma said.

Feet cuffed, and hands cuffed to the table, Vlad sat in the interrogation room, Velma stepped in with her notepad, and she switched the recorder on. She announced the date and time of the recording and began the interrogation.

"Before you say anything," Vlad began, he had a Romanian accent and his voice was deep and dark, "I did it." He said. "Why did you do it?" Velma asked. "My name is Vlad Bloodwood." He said, "I am 146-years-old." He said, then he began to laugh, "I suppose you heard of that stupid fairy tale?" He asked. "About my great-grandfather Dragomir Bloodwood."

"What about it?" Velma asked. "It's just a stupid story." Vlad said. "I was just a rumour among the towns people." He said, "I am however, 146-years-old."

"How?" Velma asked. "I taught myself alchemy, I read books from the local library and I thoroughly enjoyed mixing different things together." He said. "The one day, Willa left. That was the only part of the fairy tale that was true." He said. "She was pregnant, and they left for France, but her and her lover's deaths were just a coincidence, nothing to do with magic."

"Her leaving devastated our family; mother cried everyday, Willa was the only girl. Myself, my brothers and father spent a few days looking for her, along with a few towns people, but we couldn't find her, and we didn't know where she'd gone." He sighed, "Mother died a few years later."

"I am one-hundred and forty-six years old, because I have perfected the Elixir of Life." He said.

"Once I'd perfected the Elixir, I planned my revenge on my sister, I discovered that a lot of young couples had headed to France to escape their disapproving families, they don't call it the city of love for nothing." He said. "I discovered my sister and her lover had both died, leaving he baby, Florin, to be adopted out of the orphanage and taken to America." Vlad said.

"When I finally found him, he, and several of his children were dead, I wanted to finish the job." He said.

"That's it? Revenge?" Velma asked. "Yes." Vlad nodded, Velma looked at the officers who were standing by the door, the took Vlad back to his cell.

Vlad will be sentenced for his crime, but he's likely to be sent to a prison for the criminally insane. Shaggy said that without the elixir, he'd probably die in a few years, maybe not even that long.

The gang returned to Buffalo, back to their office, after filing their paperwork they returned to their homes.

Velma fell asleep in front of the TV, a cup of tea spilled in her lap.

Shaggy and Scooby ordered pizza's, their third dinner of the night, "Like, dominoes is great, Scoob, but it will never beat Rizzolioli's, too bad it's too far away for delivery." Shaggy said. "Ru-hu." Scooby said, with his mouth full of pizza.

"Like, let's see what's on TV Scoob." Shaggy said, flipping through the Netflix movies. "Like what about Ben Affleck's new movie, Scoob?" He asked. "Reah!" Scooby exclaimed.

At Daphne and Fred's house, Fred was lying in bed, Daphne was brushing her teeth in the bathroom.

He laid in the bed, twiddling his thumbs and muttering to himself, until Daphne came out of the bathroom and climbed into bed next to him. "Goodnight." She said, kissing his cheek and curling into his arms.

"Daphne." He said. "Yes?" She asked. "Can I ask you something?" He asked. "Sure." Daphne said.

Fred stared at her for a few seconds, before he reached into the bedside cabinet, "I wanted to do this somewhere more romantic, but I just can't wait anymore." He said, he held a small black box, slowly opening it to reveal the most beautiful gold ring with a diamond, Daphne stared at it, her eyes widening and her heart racing, almost about to burst out of her chest.

"Daphne Blake, will you marry me?" He asked, staring into her eyes. She quickly nodded, "Yes, yes oh my god Freddie yes!" She exclaimed, kissing his lips passionately.

Fred slid the ring onto her finger, "I was scared I'd mess it up, or you'd say no." He said. "Why would I say no?" Daphne asked, kissing him again. "I don't know." Fred mumbled.

"I love you." She said.

"I love you too." He replied.

Daphne looked at the ring on her finger, "I knew it would look perfect on you." He said, snuggling next to her, his head resting on her chest. Her other hand brushed his hair. "Where did you get it from? Its gorgeous." She said, sweetly. "It was my grandmother's." He said, "She didn't have any sons, so she gave it to my mom, she wanted me to have it."

"Seriously?" She asked. "Seriously." He said. "Did you tell your mom you're proposing to me?" She asked. "Yes," Fred said, chuckling at the memory. "She said it's about time."

Daphne smiled, his mother was right; it was about time. Daphne had been hoping Fred would propose to her for the last few years, every Christmas or her Birthday, when he said 'I have a surprise for you'. She was grateful for the things he got her, but what she wanted more than anything was to be his wife.

"How long have you been planning to ask me?" She asked. "I've wanted to do it for months, but I just couldn't find the right time." He said.

"I was scared you'd never ask me." Daphne said, feeling her cheeks turning red, he pressed a tender kiss to her cheek.

"I'm taking you out tomorrow night." He said, wrapping his arms around her, gently kissing her lips before he settled down again, Daphne smiled, she reached for the light switch.

Neither of them could sleep, they were both too excited.

THE END


End file.
